Ethics · 8 Aug 2026

Opioid Substitution Therapy Punjab

Consider the following pairs: List I (Term/Institution) - List II (Correct Description) 1. Buprenorphine - Medication used in Opioid Substitution Therapy, compared by officials to insulin for diabetes management 2. Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) - Punjab's clinic-based model for administering opioid substitution therapy 3. Ludhiana Civil Hospital's de-addiction centre - Has 15 dedicated beds against over 250 daily patients 4. Harm reduction as a public health approach - Aims solely at complete abstinence from all substances, with no other objective How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

AOnly one pair
BOnly two pairs
COnly three pairs
DAll four pairs
This question is based on: 43 Crore Tablets Later, Punjab's De-Addiction Programme Can't Answer a Basic Question
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 8 Aug 2026
About this question

Why in news

A Punjab Vidhan Sabha committee questioned the state's opioid de-addiction strategy after learning 43.44 crore Buprenorphine tablets have been procured over four and a half years, with no clear data on how many patients became drug-free.

Why for UPSC

This tests whether aspirants correctly understand the conceptual distinction between harm reduction (reducing death/disease/crime, not necessarily achieving abstinence) and a "de-addiction" programme's implied goal of complete recovery - a nuanced public health ethics distinction.

Prelims summary

Buprenorphine, likened to insulin, is used in Punjab's OOAT model. Ludhiana Civil Hospital has only 15 beds for 250+ daily patients. Harm reduction aims to reduce death, disease and crime from drug use - not necessarily complete abstinence.

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